Treasure Hunt
by darling devil
Summary: Set in the old west, Ren has chased after him for so many years and now he can finally come to peace with his past by going on a treasure hunt, but this journey has perils that he hadn't anticipated Ren/Kyoko Dedicated to ChickenDance Based on an Indian Movie
1. Chapter 1

Treasure Hunt

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat and the plot is based on a movie I saw but I will not reveal the name

Dedication: To ChickenDance (hehehe I know you're just dying to kill me for this. :D)

Ren rode like the wind on his trusty dark brown stallion, Comet. In a few moments he was able to catch the tail of the train. Satisfied that he got a good grip, he jumped on to the train in mid run and latched himself on the small ladder at the back. Comet rode away from the train knowing his master was no longer on his back.

Ren climbed up with ease and reached the roof. Once there, he ran along the length. He reached the first carriage of the train. Since it carried goods, there were no windows and the door was locked with the exception of a ventilator which was too small for anyone to fit, even a scrawny kid. He wasn't worried though. Reaching for the ventilators, and using them as foot holds he reached the lock and stuck something on it and retracted immediately. He didn't have to wait long as a blast shook the carriage.

Ren knew he didn't have too much time before the train stopped. He kicked the door completely now that it didn't have a lock. He went to a particular box among the many boxes of various sizes and wrenched the lid open. Inside was a medium sized pouch, he opened it briefly to confirm that the coins were there and wasting no time, he whistled, signaling for Comet to come close to the train. He had been running parallel to the train, albeit a bit slower than when Ren was riding.

The train had come to a stop by then, no doubt someone had seen him jump on the train or else the train would have taken much longer to stop. He had completed his task anyway and was about to escape when a shot grazed his left shoulder.

Hey, this is a new story… I just suddenly got inspired and here it is…. A one shot series with an old west theme

Darling Devil


	2. Chapter 2

A shot grazed Ren's shoulder. He was lucky he had been moving because he was sure that the bullet was aimed at his heart. That shot was followed by a series of fires. He had known his luck (of not being seen) would have run out soon.

He was on his horse with his revolver in hand in seconds but instead of riding away from the shooters he continued to ride towards the shooters. He quickly fired a few precise shots taking down some of the men, a talent that he had always been proud of and saved him on several occasions.

He didn't slow down his horse but galloped over them, making them fall out of the way to save their heads.

"Good boy!" Ren whispered to Comet as he had done a splendid job and pulled the reins.

Behind them, the men clamoured to gain their stand again. Though, no sooner than they took a stand, did a bomb that Ren had thrown there had detonated and they had to jump down again.

Ren smirked hearing the blast. He was glad a formidable person like Yashiro was on his side as he never wanted to be subjected to one of Yashiro's weapons. He would pay the man well, afterall, he had a trasure now that was worth the amount.


	3. Chapter 3

Ren dropped a small bag of coins on the table in front of him but not facing the man sitting. The man looked up as though clueless and innocent, but Ren knew better.

"Thanks for the information. Your share." Ren said calmly without a pause and walked away from the the man as if the exchange didn't happen.

"Wait" The man stood up. He was much older than Ren and had regal personality that could catch your attention. "I have a job for you."

Ren was instantly curious, not just because of the new opportunity but because of the man himself.

"What do you mean, Lory? You know I don't do jobs."

The man, Lory, held out a single small bundle wrapped in a white sheet of paper in his hand

AN: the plot is just beginning... stick around for more. I wil update more regularly now that I have the time to :)


	4. Chapter 4

Ren read the piece of paper again.

It was an address, a simple hotel in a nearby town. Ren couldn't help but wonder about the information Lory gave. It was not how Lory gave his information. Nothing about what he was doing was his like his usual jobs.

But…

He opened his left hand to reveal a stone, a diamond, one of the largest he had ever seen. This with the promise of more was definitely worth any job Lory could have given him.

It was dusk by the time he reached the hotel. The lights were still lit up as anyone would expect and quite noisy too.

Ren stepped into the hotel disrupting a fight of ten men against one with a large knife in his hands. The men hadn't been able to land even one hit on the man till Ren stepped in.

The momentary distraction was enough for one of the men to shoot him in the back


	5. Chapter 5

Ren rushed in to help the man against the bandits, the looks showed clearly. Pulling out his revolver, he shot the one who had injured the lone fighter. Dodging some of the bullets aimed at him, Ren kicked a chair at the nearest shooter. The chair hit him hard in the chest making him drop his gun. Ren caught the man by an arm around his neck and used him as a temporary human shield. He took down three more fighters, killed the man he held and threw the corpse at a few others.

The fighter he was helping had managed to take down three more opponents, leaving just three bandits. But he was injured at multiple places

"Go!" the man shouted at him. "Save her!"

'Who?' he wondered

The man noticing his silent question shouted "Ren! You are him right? Get her away from here" and made a way for him by slamming one of the bandits against the counter and stabbing him

Ren wasted no more time going in that direction.


	6. Chapter 6

Ren loaded more bullets as he went down the hallway. The place seems deserted and not very grand but quite clean. Every door he opened revealed no one. Cursing Lory and the man softly, ran further. There were many floors. Taking a bend near the end of the hallway, he found a rickety old staircase.

Pausing for a moment, he climbed to the next floor. Realizing it was the final floor, he searched more vigorously. There were just two rooms.

The first one was empty.

He went for the final room. She, whoever it was, had to be here.

He opened the only to be almost stabbed with a knife as large as the man below had. Fast reflexes saved him in the nick of time as he sidestepped the attacker, making her crash to the floor.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled holding the knife in front of her.

'What is with these people and knives?' Ren sighed softly.


	7. Chapter 7

The girl looked about 17 years old, much shorter than him and fair with long black hair.

She scrambled to her feet and inched away from him towards the stairs. She had a bag strapped to her back. She looked ready to bolt at any moment.

"I'm not one of the bandits." Ren stated. She didn't believe him.

"Show me a proof! I'm not a fool to believe your words."

Ren was about to bring that little paper out when he sensed something wrong. She must have sensed it too as she stood up from her little stance slowly in confusion.

"No time. We have to get out of here right now." Ren told her and pulled her by the hand.

Looking out the nearest window, he discovered the lower half of the building up in flames…


	8. Chapter 8

Ren pulled the girl down the staircase. They had climbed down two flights already and there were more to go.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Ren cursed the fast spreading flames.

"Now what?" the girl asked with a slight quivering tone

"Now…? Now, we jump." With that Ren jumped out the closest window holding the girl to his side. The shrill shout from the girl left his ears ringing as they landed in a horse trough with a gigantic splash!

Spluttering, both got out soaked from head to toe.

"Mr. Taisho!" she cried as soon as she was out and ran towards the entrance of the building. "Mr. Taisho!"

The entrance was blocked by flames!

"Help him please!" she cried, turning to him.

Taking in a breath, he burst into the building. Inside lay many bodies charred to various degrees by the flames.

In the teary smoke, he found a large knife loosely held by a hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Kyoko cried softly holding Taisho's knife in her hands. The crackling campfire was a silent reminder of the day's events.

The man who had found her had simply mentioned that Mr. Taisho was dead, with no emotion at all. He took her on his horse after telling her that. She had been grieving and did not want to talk to him. The stallion had luckily escaped with minimum injuries and had responded to his whistle. They rode till dusk and stopped in the middle of nowhere.

The said man had barely spoken a word and left her to fend for herself as he went after telling her to stay. Thinking back, she didn't even know his name. She leaned back on the rock where she was sitting. The new position gave a new pain instead of helping her relax. Her stomach groaned in protest as she sat up again.

He returned with a dead rabbit, wordlessly skinned it and skewered it to barbeque it over the camp fire. The food was as terrible as she was feeling inside.

She never said a word; neither did he.

AN: Yea, I know it's a terrible chapter. Didn't feel like posting it for a long time :/

I think character-wise, both are purposely a bit out of character. But hey, the way they meet on the show is different from this and even there they don't like each other.


	10. Chapter 10

Ren woke up as the sun rays fell on his face, his habits almost a clockwork. Unexpectedly he was startled by the sound of metal against metal. He sat up in alarm, hand on his gun. The sounds came to a still as that girl stopped what she was doing.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking breakfast"

True to her words, she was standing over a crackling fire and a pot hanging from a makeshift wooden stand.

"Where did you get them?" She pointed to her bag of utensils and some clothes that he had almost forgotten about. 'She had been prepared to run. He would have to ask her about what this was all about.' He thought before going aside to finish his morning chores.

The food was ready by the time he was back. He tentatively tried a spoon of the broth and was pleasantly surprised.

"This is good" he mentioned to her.

She gave a small sad but grateful smile that made him think it was probably Mr. Taisho who taught her to cook

AN: Since we have reached 10 chaps, I should mention some facts about this plot which might give you a better understanding.

Firstly, the protagonist in the movie on which this story is based on is sort of an arrogant character who would fight against the entire world if there's a need, living by his own set of rules. This character matches Kuon more than Ren truthfully and since I can't have the whole Kuon past in this plot, you will see Ren and Kuon characters more closely bound than in the series. The fake princely charisma isn't there because here he isn't an actor; he is a bandit of sorts.

Secondly, the pasts of the 2 characters are very different from the show but I have tried to maintain some similarities. You might have already noticed some of the differences. But, characters like Sho, Kanae, etc will appear.

Thirdly, I have not decided the antagonist of the plot since I can't find a character that suits the role, so I might introduce an original character also. The antagonist is a ruthless man, older than Ren by quite a few years, driven by a lifelong ambition. So, you get why I can't find such a character

If you have suggestions/questions, please mention and I will respond back


	11. Chapter 11

Breakfast was a quick affair. Kyoko handed the broth and some soft bread to the man whose name she had yet to know. He was hesitant till the first morsel but he soon cleaned the bowl of its contents.

Kyoko took the bowl back once he was done but as she took it back, she noticed a strange hesitation in the man's face. It disappeared no sooner than it appeared and was replaced by his usual cold demeanor.

She quickly packed everything and stood waiting as he made his own preparations. As soon as he was done, he motioned for her to get on.

"No." she said not moving from her spot. "I will go my own way."

He looked at her for a moment before spurring his horse forward, leaving Kyoko behind without remorse.

Kyoko sighed softly to herself before she went her way.

AN: I'm sorry about the humungous delay. My updates will be erratic unfortunately despite how much I try to avoid it

Feedback is always appreciated :)


	12. Chapter 12

Ren rode swiftly to the bar where he usually met Lory. There was no sign of the man. he doubted anyone would recognize him either. The man had habit of disguising himself. If not for him being the only one wearing those ridiculous costumes, Ren doubted he could ever recognize the man.

He walked up to the bartender and asked for a drink. The bartender gave the drink and two notes- one addressed to him and the other nameless.

Knowing there was only one who would give him a note, he opened the nameless one

"Dear Kyoko,

I am sorry for your loss. I wish I could have helped you in time.

You will be safe with Ren. I have tracked down your mother's whereabouts. Travel with him to the town of Ellsmore. You will find the answers that you seek but there are many perils ahead

Be safe

Lory"


	13. Chapter 13

Kyoko... so that was her name! He tucked the note into his jacket. The note did not tell him anything except a possible destination that the girl would be heading to. He was not even surprised Lory knew of the fire even though it was in a different town, the man had ears everywhere.

He was slightly worried about whatever perils Lory mentioned, he was no heartless fellow. A girl travelling alone was never safe in the west but again, that was her choice.

He opened the note addressed to him.

"Kuon-"

He instantly stiffened at the mention of that name. Lory would never address him by that name. Never! Unless-

He didn't wait to read the rest of the note. He had to go now- track that girl now!

He dumped some money on the counter for the drink and called Comet


	14. Chapter 14

Ren was back the site where they had camped that morning and was looking for signs of which direction the girl, Kyoko might have taken.

He was not bad at tracking but the girl also was not careless.

Resigning, he sat on a rock and opened that note Lory had given him.

"Kuon

I have kept some things from you. Things that I feared might make you to act rash but it seems I cannot keep you safe as your father would have wanted me to. I know you have been searching for that man, the man who took the lives of your parents. I have been searching too.

He is no ordinary man, Kuon. I know not his name but I can tell you one thing, he is after Kyoko. I knew it the moment Taisho came to me with that diamond as payment, the same kind that your father had given me days before he was killed. I do not know the reason why he is after her but keep her safe. She is now your responsibility.

She needs you more than I fear she realizes.

Be safe and keep her safe with you.

Takarada Lory"


	15. Chapter 15

Ren crumpled the paper in his fists, feeling lost and angry at losing the best lead he got in years. He had never stopped searching for that man! That man who had destroyed his family.

Kuon was defeated that day, as the pre-adolescent boy that he was. He had failed his parents that day. He squeezed his eyes shut, blocking those painful memories.

Lory had found him a few days after everything was over, lying between the corpses, utterly worn out. He was never the same again, never spoke of what happened. Only Lory knew as he saw in person what a cruel death that was.

No!

He had to snap out of this. He would not let anything get in his way and he would find a way- find that nameless man.

He knew there was one thing, one person who could help him.

Yukihito Yashiro


	16. Chapter 16

Kyoko reached a small town with an unusual name, Yellow Hollow. The town had but less than 100 residents. She had been walking the whole day and now that it was night time, it was time to rest. It was lucky this town was not that far, or she would have had to camp in the middle of nowhere and she was no fool. That was quite dangerous as she was quite unprepared.

The town square was filled with people as a travelling band of performers entertained them for the evening. Lanterns were everywhere giving the place a very surreal look. There were some musicians playing while some townsfolk danced- the main show had not yet begun.

Kyoko had never seen many performances since she usually was running around helping Mr. Taisho as the restaurant would be busy and before that she had been with Shotaru and his parents, again working. So, she joined the crowd for once.

The main show soon began. There were fire breathers and jugglers who gave the opening show. Then three men did stunning stunts on horseback and through hoops of fire making the crowd go wild when they finished completely unharmed.

The finale was performed by a single woman with beautiful, long black hair who did unbelievable acrobatics as the rest of the crew kept innumerous obstacles in her way.

Kyoko sat in awe through the whole show and at the end of it, she had an idea!

AN: Hey, an anonymous reviewer requested longer chapters. Since this is a drabble series, I may not be able to write long chapters but I will try and increase the length as and when possible

Also, hint hint can u guess anything from this chapter, what might happen next :P


	17. Chapter 17

The crowd dispersed a little after the show ended and the performers set to packing the set.

Kyoko walked into the performing area hoping to talk to someone. There were mostly wooden boxes holding various things that Kyoko didn't recognize.

"Who are you? Are you trying to steal something?"

Kyoko jumped at the unexpected watcher's voice

"No!" she half shouted and half squeaked in indignation:

A young boy who looked no more than 8 years walked out from behind some cartons. He was one of the jugglers who had performed in the show and quite good! He had even done some acrobatics which amazed the crowd. Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to him.

"wow, you gave me quite the fright. My name is Kyoko. What is your name kiddo?" she asked with a gentle voice.

"How dare you call me a kid. My name is Hiou and I'm 11!" the boy exclaimed. "Why are you sneaking around our camp?"

Kyoko was about to answer when she was interrupted.

"That's enough Hiou." a new voice, much older, called out. Two men came forward. One of them looked like an older version of the boy with a stern face, must be the father. The other man was a few years older than her and had a catchy grin on his face.

Kyoko hurriedly did a swift curtesy bow and then retracted as if she wasn't supposed to be doing that.

The younger man came forward and shook her hand firmly. "What's a beautiful woman like you in a place like this?"

Kyoko blushed at the compliment, unexpected as it was and blurted out as fast as she could...

"I want to join your band!"


	18. Chapter 18

The sun shone brightly on the way as the wagons moved down the dusty trail. It would have been a tiresome journey if not for the wonderful company the performers made!

When Kyoko asked to join to the band, Hiou's father Ryotaru Uesegi was surprised but seeing that she was travelling alone, he welcomed her.

The Uesegi family had been the head of the band for many generations. The evergreen performances were welcomed by the towns wherever they went.

Since she joined them late last night after a tiresome performance, she didn't get a chance to talk to most of them yet.

She made a new best friend though

"Miss Moouukoo!" Kyoko sang happily as she rode next to the only girl of her age in the group.

"Call Me Kanae!" she chided firmly but Kyoko did not heed to it at all and gave her the breakfast that she had made.

Finding out that she was a cook, they immediately transferred part of the responsibility to her.

"Mo! Why did you make it taste so good! If I grow fat eating this, I'll only blame you" Kanae complained half-heartedly but anyone could see that the two girls were getting along quite well!


	19. Chapter 19

Ren arrived at the crumbly shack that was his weapon-maker's home. He had asked many times why such a genius builder lived like this but never got an answer.

Knocking on the rickety door, he waited. Soon enough, he heard shuffling as Yashiro came to the door.

"Hello Ren."

"Yashiro"

After the brief acknowledgement, Yashiro sidestepped to allow Ren inside.

"I need your help." Ren jumped right into the main subject.

"Another heist? You really keep yourself busy, don't you?"

Ren kept a bag on the counter as Yashiro scanned through his stuff.

"This is payment for your services."

Yashiro finally focused on Ren as if looking for something. "There is something different about you today." Opening the bag, he found the diamond that Lory gave Ren.

"What services are you expecting for this Ren. Surely, it can't be anything good."

"You are right, it is not the usual. We're going hunting."

"We?"

"Yes, I need your help." Ren finished grimly.

AN: I had been stuck at a writer's block of sorts... but finally I got that missing link :)


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm a dealer Ren, not a fighter. I don't do missions" Yashiro told Ren seriously. "I'll give you whatever you need, but that is all I can help you with."

Ren sighed and put on a long face. "You are right. I shouldn't drag you into my personal problems-"

"Yes"

"I'll take your best tracking equipment-"

"Sure. Come-"

"I'll find her on my own-"

"Her?"

"Yes, her"

"Who?"

"Kyoko. She is in danger, I'm afraid"

"What happened?"

"Her home was burned down by bandits. She had to run away." Ren looked at Yashiro with a worried face.

"She must be alone, surviving in the wild. I need to find her Yashiro"

By this time Yashiro looked like he would burst into tears.

Ren inwardly smirked. 'Always the sucker for tragidy and romance. Good thing he was such a natural actor'

"I will help you!" Yashiro burst out hugging Ren in the process.

"Ahem, Yashiro" Ren coughed uncomfortably at the hug.

Yashiro immediately retreated and returned to his serious composed self clearing his throat.

"Come right this way"

(Not sure if I got Yashiro's inner self correctly... but here goes :) )


	21. Chapter 21

Hikaru liked Kyoko the moment he saw her that first night she approached the band. He was discussing changing his musical act a bit to involve the audience when Hiou found her.

She seemed so frail at a glance but had a determined fire in her eyes. So, he took the first chance to pull her into his act, however small a chance it was.

"So... you want me to be a mascot?"

"Yes. Until you can get your own act ready."

"I can have my own act?" Kyoko asked with hearts in her eyes.

"Yes. Yes, if you can prove yourself. For now, will you be part of my act?"

"I'll do it!" Kyoko said happily running off to tell Kanae, her self assigned best friend, the good news.

Hikaru looked at her retreating back for a few moments.

"I wonder what she'll say when she finds out she has to wear the chicken suit" Shinichi said coming up behind Hikaru.

"She'll do it. She'll do anything to rise" Hikaru commented with a soft smile.

(AN: This is on Kyoko's side... A bit more side character development in the last two chapters. Hope it wasn't OOC)


	22. Chapter 22

Ren and Yashiro rode to the place Ren had last seen Kyoko.

"I don't know where she might have gone from here."

Yashiro brought out a map of the region and spread it on the ground.

"I estimate that we are here. From here there are 4 towns including her own which are within a 100 mile radius, about how much a person can cover in the day. They spread out in different directions. Any hunches on which direction she might have taken?"

Ren scanned the map. The town Ellsmore caught his eye. It was in the North direction but nowhere near walking distance. 'Would she head there? In that direction?'

He closed his eyes to think. He had ridden northwards, before he had approached Yashiro, in search of her. He had assumed that she would head north but she was not there. On the day he left her behind, he hadn't even turned back to look at where she might go.

He had no hunch, no clue. He simply did not know her.

"East" Yashiro's sure voice broke his inner monologue.

'And that is why I need Yashiro' he thought with a smile

Note: All places and names mentioned in this story, other than the Skip Beat characters are cooked up. So don't associate with any real place or person :P


	23. Chapter 23

Ren and Yashiro rode eastwards and reached the town of Yellow Hollow. It was a small dusty town which was in an approximately crescent shape.

The two men enquired all around the town. No one saw any girl that matched Kyoko's description.

"Are you sure she came this way?"

"Yes. There are 3 factors why I chose this direction. The day before the fire, there was a big dust storm. The rocks on the way to this town would have been a natural barrier for a lone walker. Second, the rocks would also have good hiding places, this would have been important for someone running from bandits." Yashiro paused in his explanation to look straight at Ren.

"What's the third reason?" Ren asked, now curious.

"You"

"Me?"

"Yes, the fact that you have no idea which direction she might have taken, she most likely took the route opposite to the one you took, west."


	24. Chapter 24

Kyoko was having fun!

The Ishibashi group with whom she performed were a welcoming bunch and the show... The show was just amazing.

The show was name Bridge Rock. In the town they went to, they invited someone from their audience, preferably someone who everyone knew, like the towns mayor or the bartender, etc.

The last town was her first show. She danced with the mayor (in a chicken suit), played games like hopskip against the mayor, for the humorous effect and in short stole the show with laughs and cheers

Hikaru even said she could try stunts in the future. Showbiz was awesome!

AN: I will update regularly from now on. I am using my my tablet to write instead of computer so that it'll be more regular.

It might lead to a few mistakes due to autocorrect or something. If anyone is interested in beta-ing, it would be a huge help!

Also, the original movie it is based on has none of this stuff... So if you are trying to guess the movie, only the Initial chapters may help

Cheers


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